The theme is A Family Affair at Canada Blooms 2019, a little more than a week away. Just for the event, I’ve written a brand new talk on Gardening with Children for the Toronto Master Gardeners’ presentation library – you can see it (and me) on the Harrowsmith Garden Solutions Stage at noon on Tuesday, March 12th. My talk is just one of the things going on this year to get kids into the garden.

A whole bunch of Li’l Sprouts Workshops from the Master Gardeners of Ontario lets kids get hands on making take-home projects like bee houses, chia pets, or herb planters. And be sure to put Sunday, March 10 at 1 pm on your calendar – when Emma Biggs and her dad Steven (whose book on gardening for kids we recently reviewed here) talk about ways to get the whole family into gardening mode.

Once again, I have to put in a plug for the Early Morning Tours at Canada Blooms. Besides being a speaker, being a tour guide at the show is one of my favourite ways to volunteer. It’s a quiet two hours to see the exhibits without lineups before the show opens and get insider tips from fans like me – plus, kids 12 and under join in for free. The tours are also an important fundraiser for the garden show.

Ice cream sales are, too. So feel free to indulge your inner child, no matter what age you are.